'The market will decide': Toyota chairman says EVs will never dominate global market even with 'political power'

The chairman of car manufacturer Toyota continued his push against electric vehicles in favor of hybrid vehicles and claimed that EVs will never have a majority share in the global market.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's remarks published on the Toyota website echoed previous comments made by the executive, in which he stated that there is a better path to reducing carbon than the enforcement of electric vehicles.

"No matter how much progress [EVs] make, I think they will still only have a 30% market share. Then, the remaining 70% will be [hybrid vehicles], [hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles], and hydrogen engines," Toyoda said, according to a translation provided by NewsMax.

"[Gasoline] engine cars will definitely remain. This is something that customers and the market will decide, not regulatory values or political power."

Toyoda previously stated that people were "finally seeing reality" regarding the EV market. He added that there were "many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality."

In 2022, the chairman also remarked on the auto industry having a "silent majority" who wondered "whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option."

"One billion people around the world live in areas without electricity," Toyoda reportedly said on the company's site. "In the case of Toyota, we also supply vehicles to these regions, so a single [EV] option cannot provide transportation for everyone."

"Do not deprive freedom of movement from any region, country, or income group," the chairman exclaimed.

The chairman also boasted that "Japan is the only developed country to have reduced CO2 emissions by 23%" through the use of hybrid vehicles.

Stories have been flooding the media landscape with reports of slowed production and usage of EVs, which have not come anywhere close to industry or government projections.

Asheville, North Carolina, said it was "pressing pause" on EVs after a fleet of electric buses broke down. The city was reportedly looking to reinvest in biodiesel-powered buses after investing millions of dollars in an electric fleet that is only partly operable.

Ford also implemented job cuts for its production of electric F-150 Lightning trucks in January 2024 and transferred manpower to a different production facility to produce gas-powered vehicles.

At the same time, European car dealers reported that the number of electric vehicles making their way into the European Union's used-car market was far lower than expected.

The rate of used-car purchases was just 2% or lower in select EU countries, with contributing factors including a higher purchase price, a perceived lack of charging stations, and the fact that the consumer worries about the driving range of plug-in cars.

AVERE, an EV advocacy group from Brussels, Belgium, disagreed with the figures put forth by the car dealers.

There is a "lack of trustful and aligned data," said Philippe Vangeel, AVERE secretary general. The advocate also blamed car dealers for lacking knowledge in electric vehicles, which he said made them less inclined to push the EV models.

Vangeel noted that there should be an increase of electric vehicle purchases in Europe when governments eventually force consumers to go electric through the implementation of low-emission zones.

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